An Overview of Brijuni National Park – Croatia

Brijuni National Park is an awesome island 15 minutes North of Pula in Istria, Croatia. It’s a place you could easily spend a full day at and never run out of things to do. The island boasts a safari, museums, 3 hotels, an active military area, and most interestingly one of the President’s homes, plus many other activities!

Brijuni is surprisingly large and there are two ways to get there. #1- Buy ferry tickets from the tourist office by the dock (220 Kuna, including a tour of the island during high season) or #2- Hire a boat man to take you swimming and on a boat ride around the island (220 kuna but it may change based on their rates). We chose option #1 because we had prebooked the ferry. If I could go back, I probably would have gone with the privately hired boat man.

Tours are offered in many different languages including English, Italian, Croatian, Spanish, and German. The tour lasts around 4 hours and takes you to the Presidential Museum, Safari Park (by train), Old Quarries, golf course, and by lots of the amazing sights.

You don’t have to take the tour though, you can either rent a bike, golf cart, or Segway to explore every inch of the island. We chose to walk and do the tour and ended up going back to the swimming area. Sadly there is only one swimming area, and it’s at the least beautiful part of the island. Where it lacks beauty, it’s more than made up for in history. In fact, the swimming area is nestled beside a 1st century Italian fort that has been preserved surprisingly well.

If you’re going to visit Brijuni, I would recommend bringing a few things such as sunscreen, a camera, swimsuit, small backpack, water shoes, cash, good walking shoes, and a good amount of time!